Pixeldust Studioshttp://www.pixeldust.tv
A Visual Design and Production StudioThu, 01 Dec 2016 16:53:17 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.5Lawrence Cumbo to lead Pixeldust creative expansionhttp://www.pixeldust.tv/lawrence-cumbo-to-lead-pixeldust-creative-expansion/
Tue, 22 Nov 2016 19:40:12 +0000http://www.pixeldust.tv/?p=1204Realscreen, 11.22.16
With an eye on growing its entertainment division across platforms and into international markets, U.S. indie Pixeldust Studios has brought on board Lawrence Cumbo as senior VP of development and content.

Cumbo (pictured, left), former showrunner for the docuseries I Survived… and executive producer with National Geographic, brings with him to the Washington, D.C.-based studio an active development slate of more than 30 projects, from scripted kids programming to varied unscripted projects for the likes of History, Discovery, TruTV, Smithsonian Channel and Scripps Networks Interactive.

Cumbo has a long history working with Pixeldust president and creative director, and multi-Emmy winning producer Ricardo Andrade (pictured, right). The pair have worked together on various projects over the past 25 years, producing indie films, live events and studio-based programming.

Having steadily collaborated throughout the years, Cumbo’s new addition to the Pixeldust team positions the company to now grow its original production capabilities, Andrade told realscreen. Pixeldust’s goal is to move from its original focus on short-form production to embrace original TV series and specials for broadcast, SVOD’s, and sponsored content, as well as continue creating original virtual reality/360 and augmented reality content, and live stream programming.

“By now catering to broadcast and cable, that will help us grow faster,” Andrade said. Cumbo’s hire is key to that plan.

“Now with Lawrence joining us, we are positioned for huge growth in the development and production of original television specials and series especially designed for SVOD streaming outlets. Right now, we are actively on the lookout for new material, and we believe our unique, full-service production capabilities will continue to shine as we work to evolve our entertainment division,” he said.

In addition to its position as an animation and production studio, Pixeldust’s entertainment division has developed and produced three streaming TV series for the non-fiction SVOD service CuriosityStream.

]]>ANIMATION MAGAZINE Featured Pixeldust as one of the top scientific……http://www.pixeldust.tv/animation-magazine-featured-pixeldust-as-educational/
Mon, 17 Oct 2016 22:09:08 +0000http://www.pixeldust.tv/?p=1197

ANIMATION MAGAZINE issue Aug-Sep 2016 put on the SPOTLIGHT Educational and Technical Animation, Pixeldust Studios as one of the top animation companies that use fascinating applications for animation, like to create; augment educational materials, architecture and scientific applications.

Because animation is not for cartoons anymore!

]]>A Curious World: The Bronze Age Produced and animated by Pixeldust Studioshttp://www.pixeldust.tv/a-curious-world-the-bronze-age-produced-and-animated-by-pixeldust-studios/
Fri, 15 Jan 2016 16:40:11 +0000http://www.pixeldust.us/?p=997Pixeldust Studios created more than 75 original animations for a three-part original series entitled A CURIOUS WORLD about the Bronze Age. The new series airs on CuriosityStream, the nonfiction SVOD service launched by Discovery founder John Hendricks earlier this year.

A CURIOUS WORLD: THE BRONZE AGE covers 2,000 years of history in the Aegean/Mediterranean, Egypt and Near East from roughly 3000 BC to 1000 BC. New animations produced by Pixeldust include the reconstruction of four ancient capitals, including the Egyptian city of Thebes and the early Greek capital of Mycenae. The series will premiere on CuriosityStream in January 2016.

“We were extremely excited about this project from the very beginning,” says Pixeldust President and Creative Director Ricardo Andrade. “We knew it would be a big challenge for us to depict the Bronze Age in animations, considering that artifacts and ruins from this time period are not as abundant for reference material as are those from Classical Greece or Rome. We did extensive research, and our production team worked closely with Bronze Age experts to ensure our animations would be as historically accurate as possible.”

Regarding Pixeldust’s work on this series, CuriosityStream President Elizabeth Hendricks North said, “It’s incredible the level of detail and amount of research that goes into historical 3D animations. We’re thrilled to have Pixeldust as a part in bringing this vibrant era back to life for our original series A CURIOUS WORLD.”

Each episode in the series will run between 18-20 minutes. Pixeldust animators are using Maya as their main 3D application along with Mental Ray renderer. After Effects is being used for compositing.

“For the reconstruction of Thebes, where up to 80,000 inhabitants once lived, it’s a little like working with a jigsaw puzzle,” says Pixeldust CG Supervisor Samar Shool. “We started with a Google maps layout of the modern city. Then, we combined imagery of the ancient ruins to geo-locate them on the existing map. Once we had our custom map finished, we painted in the ancient city streets and houses, along with temples, reflecting pools, statues and tombs.”

“From there, we imported all the information into our 3D software, Maya, and erected the 3d model of the city,” Shool continues. “Then, using our CGI camera, we had the flexibility to fly over any area of the city. For these 3D shots, we’re were trying to simulate realistic, physical lighting by using HDRs as a light source.”

For many of the other animations featured within the series, Pixeldust used 2.5D camera mapping on frescoes and ancient artifacts. “Many of these images came from the Bridgeman Art Library, which provides one of the largest archives for art reproductions in the world,” explained Pixeldust VP and Supervising Producer Elizabeth Andrade. “Through the magic of animation, we were able to add motion and breathe new life into artwork that is thousands of years old.”

]]>Pixeldust Studios nominated for an Emmy Award for the work on “Mass Extinction: Life at the Brink”http://www.pixeldust.tv/pixeldust-studios-nominated-for-an-emmy-award-for-the-work-on-mass-extinction-life-at-the-brink/
Fri, 24 Jul 2015 23:22:35 +0000http://www.pixeldust.us/?p=981Proud of the Pixeldust Studios crew for our National Emmy nomination for “Outstanding Graphic Design & Art Direction” for the amazing film “Extinction: Life on the brink” Congrats also to Smithsonian Channel, Producer Sarah Holt, Editor Daniel Sheire and the entire team at Tangled Bank.

For “The Year of Pluto,” Pixeldust Studios had to render more than 10,000 frames for the entire Kuiper Belt sequence, which ran nearly 6-minutes long. The company deployed its robust render farm for this monumental task which was comprised of 70-80 render nodes running Intel i-7 processors with 12-16 GB of RAM. Renderer used was Maya’s Mental Ray. The overall render time was about 5-6 days, spread out in different increments. Final frames were composited in Adobe After Effects CC 2014

Regarding Pixeldust Studios’ contributions to this new documentary project, Geoff Haines-Stiles, Writer/Producer/Director of “The Year of Pluto,” said, “Pixeldust brought creativity, intelligence, and a deep commitment to accurate science to this project. They took the best still images from telescopes, plus space artists’ speculations and expert input from our advisors, and transformed that data into a dramatic television trip through the Kuiper Belt. As always, their team was a pleasure to work with – responsive, quick, and ever-willing to go the extra mile to make things look great and reflect as much as we know about this mysterious realm of ice worlds.”

“The Year of Pluto” has already generated over 320,000 views on NASA TV YouTube, and more than 64,000 views on APL’s site. One viewer on NASA’s YouTube Channel commented, “One of the best NASA films ever,” while another wrote, “That was awesome. Even jerked a tear – humanity’s amazing feats. There’s still hope for our race.”

Pixeldust Studios is pleased to be part of today’s launch of CuriosityStream, a new SVOD service focused on high-quality, educational programming created by Discovery Channel Founder John Hendricks. Our original 15-episode series, A Curious World, seeks to answer some of life’s most compelling questions: Why do we dream? What’s the universe made of? and Can we ever control the weather? CuriosityStream is offering a FREE month trial of their wide array of online series exploring various topics including science, technology, civilization and the human spirit. Please sign up and check out our series, A Curious World, at: http://curiositystream.com/

Pixeldust Studios receives a 2014 CINE Golden Eagle Award for the open of Natgeo’s series “All Access 360: World’s Heritage” , produced by Infocus Asia. featuring an exclusive tour behind the scenes of select UNESCO World Heritage sites. As the earth animates and rotates, famous monuments and sites are revealed with a vibrant, high energy music score and dynamic camera angles.

Bethesda, MD –(SPW)– Pixeldust Studios, a multi-award winning digital animation and broadcast design studio, is expanding its creative production capabilities to now include providing clients with innovative script-to-screen video production and interactive design. While animation and visual effects will remain at the core of the company’s business, Pixeldust will begin to leverage its in-house creative talent and newly expanded resources to deliver original, high quality digital content and products to meet the growing demand for such content across television, the web, videogames, and mobile devices.
In additional company news, Pixeldust has also just launched a new Hispanic Market division, and will now provide Spanish language capabilities for its clients. Also, the company has just named Emmy Award winning producer Lori Butterfield as its new Senior Vice President, Creative Content and Development.

In conjunction with the company’s new Hispanic Market division, a major focus is now underway by Pixeldust Studios to offer Spanish language capabilities and services to the growing Hispanic market based both in the U.S. and Latin America. Pixeldust VP and Executive Producer Elizabeth Andrade, who will oversee the new division. says, “Our company is well positioned to service the Hispanic media and multi-cultural corporate clients. As Latin American natives ourselves, we understand the nuances and idiosyncrasies of the culture. Our experience working with major broadcasters for ten years, and our award-winning track record of excellence, makes Pixeldust uniquely qualified to take on a wide-range of Spanish language productions. We have the proven ability to create exciting new strategies and campaigns targeted directly to Hispanic consumers.”

]]>PIXELDUST WINS SILVER AND BRONZE TELLY AWARDShttp://www.pixeldust.tv/pixeldust-wins-silver-and-bronze-telly-awards/
Thu, 17 Apr 2014 10:55:48 +0000http://www.pixeldust.us/cms/?p=40Pixeldust Studios has been awarded a Silver Telly Award for excellence in Animation and a Bronze Telly Award for excellence in Advertising & Promotion during the 34th Telly award competition. Both Awards were for National Geographic’s Specials Alien Deep with Bob Ballard. Pixeldust used 3D animation to create an immersive journey through the depths of the ocean, generating hyper realistic shots that are unable to be captured through cinematography. Pixeldust also created a promo for the series. The Telly Awards was founded in 1978 and has been a recognized mark of excellence throughout the film and television industry for over 34 years.

]]>PIXELDUST WINS TWO AWARDS AT 2013 NEW YORK FESTIVALShttp://www.pixeldust.tv/pixeldust-wins-two-awards-at-2013-new-york-festivals/
Thu, 17 Apr 2014 10:50:06 +0000http://www.pixeldust.us/cms/?p=54Pixeldust Studios was awarded the Gold World Medal at the 2013 New York Festivals. This award is for our work on the NOVA series, Fabric of the Cosmos, combining over 1,000 visual effects, green screen shots, 2d and 3d animations, and digital sets to create imagery for over 80% of each episode. Our work in collaboration with the Smithsonian Channel on the viral online video Titanoboa, was awarded a Bronze World Medal.